Coronary Circulation

What is Coronary Circulation?

• Blood Flow pathway that is a special subset of the systemic circuit.

• The pathway supplies the cardiac muscle with oxygenated blood due to its high metabolic demand.

• the heart pumps blood, but the heart needs blood too.

What are Coronary Arteries?

• Location

• Function

• Branch off what vessel?

• Arteries that surround and supply the heart; and are posterior to the pulmonary trunk.

• Delivers O2 blood to the coronary capillary beds; undergoes gas + nutrient exchange.

• The coronary arteries branch off of the ascending aorta

What are the different coronary arteries?

• What do they branch off into?

1. Right Coronary Artery

   • Marginal Artery

   • Posterior Interventricular Artery

     
     

2. Left Coronary Artery

   • Anterior Interventricular Artery

   • Circumflex Artery

What is the pathway of the right coronary artery and its branches?

• What do parts of the heart do the arteries supply with blood?

• Right coronary artery: Travels inferior and medially along the right atrioventricular sulcus.

  • Marginal Artery: Arises near the inferior border of the heart.

  • Posterior Interventricular Artery: Curls around to posterior heart and travels into the posterior interventricular sulcus.

• Supplies the right atrium and right ventricle.

What is the pathway of the left coronary artery and its branches? What parts of the heart do the arteries supply with blood?

• Left Coronary Artery: Supplies the anterior and posterior side of the left heart.

  
  

  • Anterior Interventricular Artery: Travels along into the anterior ventricular sulcus.

    • Reaches apex, curls around, and travels a short distance along the posterior interventricular sulcus.

    • Supplies interventricular septum, anterior and posterior left ventricle.

      
      

  • Circumflex Artery: Curves along the left atrioventricular sulcus, traveling around the heart.

    • Supplies left atrium and parts of left ventricle

    • Supplies branch that becomes the posterior interventricular artery.

What is the Coronary Sinus?

• A coronary vein (very bulbous) that the majority of the heart's veins drain blood into.

• Receives blood from 3 major veins.

What are the 3 veins that the Coronary Sinus receives blood from?

1. Great Cardiac Vein

2. Small Cardiac Vein

3. Middle Cardiac Vein

What is the Great Cardiac Vein?

• Vein that ascends along anterior interventricular sulcus; travels to posterior heart along the left atrioventricular sulcus.

• Drains left atrium and both ventricles.

• Paired with the Anterior Interventricular Artery.

What is the Small Cardiac Vein?

• Travel

• What regions does the vein drain

• What is the paired artery?

• Vein that travels along the right atrioventricular sulcus.

• Drains the right atrium and parts of the right ventricle.

• Paired with the right marginal artery.

What is the Middle Cardiac Vein?

• Travel

• What regions does the vein drain

• What is the paired artery?

• Vein that travels along posterior interventricular sulcus.

• Drains posterior left ventricle.

• Paired with Posterior Interventricular Artery